


Day 216

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [216]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [216]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257
Kudos: 1





	Day 216

Varric was hesitantly pleased with the start of the festival. He had been worried everyone would be too stingy to spend any money. With everybody still trying to recover from the attack there was no guarantee they would open their purse-strings. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be splurging and enjoying themselves. Everyone except Hawke. He had not left his manor since the day before, so Varric decided to pay his friend a visit.

Bodahn let him in but warned Varric Hawke was having a ‘bad day,’ meaning he was paralyzed by depression. Varric nodded but whent up to the bedroom anyway. Hawke was still in bed but was at least sitting up and conscious. There was a half-eaten plate of food on his night-stand and an empty bottle of wine.

“Good morning Varric,” Hake said. Varric ignored the stains on his nightgown and pulled up a stool next to the bed.

“I think you mean good afternoon,” he said. “At least I don’t need to worry about you getting enough sleep.”

Hawke attempted a smile but only managed a half-hearted, lopsided one.

“Elegant wants me to give speeches and attend parties,” he said.

“Well everyone is celebrating your heroics,” Varric replied. “It would be awkward without the center of attention.” Varric watched Hawk’s face fall and regretted his attempts at humor. “But the Champion’s Banquet won’t be for a few more days at least. You have plenty of time to steel yourself for dealing with the nobles. By the Paragons I know how awful they can be. And if you feel up to it, you could find a date and try to enjoy yourself. There are plenty of things to do that don’t involve watching poorly recreated versions of you fighting the Arishok.”

“That’s a nice thought but I don’t have anyone to go with, and I don’t feel up to being alone out there.”

“What about Blondy?”

“He’s staying in his clinic to tend to people who drunkenly injure themselves.”

“Aveline?”

“Either working or having couple’s time with Donnic.”

“Daisy?”

“Same thing but with Noll.”

“Well then I will be your date,” Varric said.

“Aren’t you busy managing all your business enterprises?” Hawke asked. 

“I’m never too busy for my favorite human,” Varric said. “Besides, I know all the best places.”

It took Hawke a while to get cleaned up and dressed but before too long the two friends were heading out to the city to see how much non-Qunari related trouble they could get up to. Most of the overtly religious propaganda events were in Hightown so they headed the docs. When they reached the top of the grand staircase out of Hightown Varric led Hawke over to a stall where a human had set up a rickshaw to take people in and out of Hightown.

“Hawke, meet Gomes,” Varric said. “He is a regular client of mine and is showing off his new invention during the festival.”

“Well my daughter was the one who came up with the idea,” Gomes said, flushing slightly at the attention. “Only seven winters and already she is smarter than me and her mother combined.”

Gomes gave a little, embarrassed bow, and explained to Hawke how his new, triple-wheeled rickshaw worked. For the duration of the festival he was giving rides to people and goods up and down the stairs to Hightown for a few coppers a ride. If all went according to plan, more of these carts would be in demand soon. Hawke didn’t have any coppers on him so he offered Gomes a silver for the trip and they went into a whole back and forth where Gomes couldn’t accept so much generosity from the Champion and Hawke felt embarrassed that pocket change for him was such a lavish fortune for someone else. In the end Hawke offered to endorse the new invention instead of paying.

At the docs Varric and Haweke toured the stands looking at ‘exotic’ ware from all over the free marches. Hawke was a man who had every material want taken care of, so Varric tried to offer the one thing he was lacking, companionship. They bought little but joked about some of the more outrageous claims the merchants made. Then settled into one of the seaside bars for a night of drinking, cards, and conversation.

The later the night went on and the more drinks they had the more money they lost and the more boisterous the conversations. That was just the way Varric liked it. As long as you never bet what you couldn’t afford to lose, a night of losing money and yelling at strangers could be very cathartic.

It was well into the night by the time they stumbled back into Hawke’s mansion and all thought of the Qunaris and the Arishok were gone from the Champion’s mind. Tomorrow would be another story but Varric had done what he could for today.


End file.
